fbpx
We rely on advertising revenue to support the creative content on our site. Please consider whitelisting our site in your settings, or pausing your adblocker while stopping by.

Get the Magazine

Spotlight: Healthcare
This issue’s Spotlight is all about healing – with features on both completed projects and products as well as inspiring concepts.
Transparency is Top of Mind at this Preventative Care Clinic
1/7
Bionica, HDR’s Futuristic Healthcare Concept, Puts the Patient First
2/7
A Montreal Aquatic Centre Fosters Community Connections
3/7
Odessa Brown Children's Clinic
NBBJ’s People-Centred Approach to Healthcare Design
4/7
Open Range flooring by Mannington Commercial in a healthcare reception area
4 Flooring Collections That Bring Natural Beauty to Healthcare Settings
5/7
Pirra Lounge healthcare seating by Arcadia Contract
4 Seating Collections That Help Healthcare Spaces Feel Like Home
6/7
Letto Singolo chaise from Varaschin's Wellness Therapy collection
Varaschin’s Latest Furniture System is Focused on Wellness
7/7
Spotlight: Healthcare

With serene, spa-like interiors, the Early Medical Centre is the antithesis of what one often expects when entering a medical facility. And that is the point. Rather than a sterile space void of personality, the Singapore-based screening and preventative health-care clinic — which blends traditional wellness approaches with advanced scientific technologies and more contemporary treatment methods — desired a setting that promoted transparency and a sensitivity to the patient experience.

Exterior view of the glazed facade and striking interiors of Studio Antimatter's Early Medical Centre
The fully glazed facade offers a clear view to the striking interiors while balancing the building’s existing light box.

To translate its concept into physical form, the clinic enlisted Gabriel Tan and his team at local design agency...

The hospital experience needs a complete rethink. Being admitted in the first place disrupts your life (and the lives of your loved ones), taking you away from the comfort of home at your most vulnerable. And the labyrinthine layouts of hospitals are disorienting, even when you’re being navigated by a friendly porter. Most frustrating of all (beyond the scary stuff of IVs, MRIs and other necessary evils) are the long wait times between specialist appointments, which can also prolong the hospital stay. The patient, in other words, is at the mercy of a system of care that, even in advanced medical settings, sometimes seems anathema to healing. What if the whole enterprise were upended?

With Bionica, Yunnan Allen and Brian Schaller...

The design for the Rosemont Aquatic Centre in Montreal — by Poirier Fontaine Architectes in collaboration with local firms KANVA and Riopel + Associés Architectes — is all about connections. The most obvious of these are the literal passage-ways, slated for construction, that will link a historical building at the site (a community complex from 1951) to the new facility, an L-shaped edifice that flanks a corner of the block. The aquatic centre, now open and running, has two public pools — one for families and one for athletic events — and boasts exterior details, like bold horizontal lines and chevron-patterned windows, that reference the art deco–inspired look of its older peer.

View of the swimming pavilions at the Rosemont Aquatic Centre by Poirier-Fontaine-Architectes
The entirety of the new Rosemont Aquatic...
Odessa Brown Children's Clinic

Architects and designers worth their salt understand the importance of conveying context in built environments, but identifying how the client perceives that context isn’t always obvious. Such was the case with the design of the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic in Seattle by architecture firm NBBJ. Despite overseeing its fair share of healthcare projects over decades — from a 344-bed infirmary in Scotland to one of the largest children’s behavioural health centres in the U.S. — the global firm still had to navigate a learning curve to fully grasp the client’s wants and needs. We spoke with project team leads Edwin Beltran (partner and interior design leader) and Christina Yates (lead interior designer) about their experience and lessons...

Open Range flooring by Mannington Commercial in a healthcare reception area

Specifying flooring for healthcare settings is no easy feat. From stringent hygiene requirements to the ability to stand up to heavy equipment — and the need to add warmth and beauty to often sterile spaces — there are many factors to consider. These collections by LX Hausys, Mannington Commercial, Tarkett and Mohawk Group fit the bill.

1
Natural Selection Plus by LX Hausys
Natural Selection Plus by LX Hausys

Contributing to soothing interior settings, this collection of heterogeneous sheets features 15 authentic-looking wood-grain patterns and an equal number of designs that mimic the appearance of concrete or textured fabrics like cotton, felt and linen. Specifically intended for healthcare spaces, the flooring is anti-fungal and antibacterial and has...

Pirra Lounge healthcare seating by Arcadia Contract

A hospital stay often leaves one craving the comforts of home. These seating collections by Arcadia Contract, Allseating, SitOnIt and Brunner Group bring a residential appeal to healthcare spaces, while ensuring hygiene, durability and comfort remain top of mind.

1
Pirra Lounge by Arcadia Contract
Pirra Lounge healthcare seating by Arcadia Contract

Barcelona-based Gemma Bernal designed the Pirra lounge chair with warmth and well-being in mind. The wood frame imparts a sense of calm in clinical environments, and a slight pitch in the seat (with built-in suspension support in the back and seat cushions) ensures comfort during prolonged sitting.

2
Rühe by Allseating
Rühe by Allseating

The multi-range Rühe, by industrial designer Mike Shields, combines durability and...

Letto Singolo chaise from Varaschin's Wellness Therapy collection

Designed by architect Alberto Apostoli, the four-piece Wellness Therapy family of furniture from Varaschin is equipped with advanced technology, and its simple forms create a completely immersive and personal experience.

Double bed from Varaschin's Wellness Therapy collection

The Letto Singolo, an upholstered relaxation bed, can feature an attached elliptical light ring that is made of resin and equipped with RGB colour therapy; the emitted light can be a single colour or transition through an automatic rotation. More than 20 “wellness” fabrics are available for the mattress, and eight finishes are offered for the ring. Supports for the bed include any combination of tubular metal (in nine colours) or resin feet (in the same eight finishes as the light ring), contoured acrylic...